East Coast meets West Coast in this week’s LA Valiant Match Preview. They Valiant and Florida Mayhem will meet again in a clash of fraggers. This match is especially important for the Valiant who sit just behind the Atlanta Reign for the fifth seed in the playoff bracket. A win here would massively help their chances. Meanwhile, the Mayhem look to play spoiler and keep them out of the top five. Will this be more of a La La Land or Miami Vice? Let’s take a look.
2019-08-24 – Overwatch League 2019 – LA Valiant Homestand / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
These two teams have similar builds throughout. Both the Mayhem and Valiant have underrated main tanks in Fate and Dreamer. They can play pretty much every main tank and never feed. It is arguably the most balanced matchup in this match. Then there is the off tank battle between Gargoyle and McGravy. Gargoyle is likely the more talented of the two, but McGravy is the better D.Va. Now that shields are nerfed, the meta is uncertain. This is a very interesting matchup that could swing the game.
The DPS lines of the two teams are close to equal overall. KSP is a more talented hitscan player than BQB, that is no question. His mechanical ability far supersedes BQB on any hero. While the Valiant have the advantage at the hitscan position, the Mayhem likely have and advantage at flex DPS. With Tracer banned, Shax most likely will not be playing. This means the Valiant will likely be leaning on KSF to pair with KSP. While KSF is a really nice player, Yaki is more talented. While Yaki also won’t be able to play Tracer, he can match or perform better than KSF on every other hero. Overall the two lines are equal.
The support line battle leans towards the LA Valiant. While the Mayhem have looked good in double flex support metas, this is a completely unknown meta. Gangnamjin and Lastro are both mechanically gifted flex supports who can do massive amounts of damage in addition to their healing. Where the Valiant gain an advantage is RaiN versus Kris & Byrem. Rain is better on all main supports than Kris while also being able to flex onto Baptiste in a double flex meta. The Valiant are just more flexible.
Image courtesy of Carlton Beener for Activision Blizzard Entertainment
In a meta this unknown with these teams, the off tanks may make the difference in this matchup. Both DPS lines will show up no matter what and so will the support lines. The main tanks are as equal as can be, so it naturally lands on the flex tanks.
McGravy’s resurgence this year has been one of the underrated storylines in the league. After a great debut with the Mayhem in 2019, he was benched then traded by the Mayhem as they went full Korean. Now with a full time starting role he has managed to flourish. Meanwhile, Gargoyle is essentially McGravy’s replacement. In his short career, Gargoyle’s peeks are off the chart. His Roadhog, Sigma, and D.Va all can go off any given day. Luckily he won’t need to play Zarya, which is arguably his worst off-tank.
If McGravy can gain the upper hand, that likely will facilitate a Valiant win. The same stands vice versa for Gargoyle. Time will tell on who will win.
What do you think? Tell Christian on Twitter at @TheWiz_SPM.
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